Photo by Alexandre Schneider /Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned to the hurt business last night (Sat., Aug. 10, 2019 to stage UFC Fight Night 156 from inside Antel Arena in Montevideo, Uruguay. In the headlining act, Valentina Shevchenko cruised past Liz Carmouche to hold on to her women’s Flyweight strap (highlights). Also, Mike Perry and Vicente Luque put on a violent and bloody war for fight fans, resulting in a split decision win for Luque.
Biggest Winner: Volkan Oezdemir
Coming into his fight against Ilir Latifi, Volkan was the owner of a horrid three fight losing streak after exploding on the UFC scene with three straight impressive wins. Dropping four straight could have spelled the end of his UFC run, as “No Time” simply couldn’t replicate the magic he showed early on.
Fortunately for Volkan, he got a new lease on his UFC life, as he knocked out Ilir in the second round of their Light Heavyweight affair. It’s a much-needed win for the 205-pound star, as he can now go into his next bout with room to breathe. It also earned him an extra $50,000 in performance bonus money. If those aren’t wins all the way around, I’m not sure what is. As far as getting to Jon Jones, however, Volkan still has a way to go.
Runner Up: Vicente Luque
The Welterweight division is about to have another top 15 fighter come next week — adding more depth to the already-stacked weight class — as Luque earned his sixth straight win after doing just enough to score a split decision victory over Mike Perry. It wasn’t easy, though, as it was an absolute war, one that left “Platinum” bloodied and busted up (see the carnage here).
Luque took several big licks himself, but ultimately showed the judges a bit more to get the nod. The win should give Luque a big boost all the way around, setting him up for a much bigger fight moving forward. From there, Vicente could be on the fast track to a title shot if he can keep doing what’s he’s been doing over the last couple of years. For now, he can enjoy the $50,000 he got from the display of violence opposite Perry.
Biggest Loser: Tecia Torres
Torres losing to Marina Rodriguez will only set “Tiny Tornado” back a few notches, as the loss was her fourth straight after starting off her UFC career at 6-1. At one point, Torres seemed like a surging title contender, but after she lost to Jessica Andrade in 2018, Torres hasn’t been able to put it back together, going on to lose to Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Weili Zhang and now Rodriguez.
Women don’t get cut very often by UFC, so Tecia may be spared once it comes down for top officials to thin the herd. But to the present problem, it seems something isn’t lining up for Torres, as she can’t get back to her dominate ways that saw her start her career 10-1. Whether or not she gets the chance to turn it around inside the Octagon, remains to be seen.
For complete UFC Uruguay results and coverage click here.